By Marcia Lee Laycock

It had been a stressful trip. As usual, when we traveled the three hundred miles from Dawson City to Whitehorse, Yukon, we had a long list of needs and wants, both for ourselves and for friends. The ‘city’ part of the name, you see, was a bit of a misnomer back then, when Dawson’s population was less than five hundred and it could boast of only two small stores. An annual buying trip south was essential and this one had not been going particularly well.

I was stretched out on the bed in the small hotel room as my husband discussed what kind of vehicle we should buy and how we were going to handle the expense. I tried to listen. I really did. But it didn’t take long before his words seemed to drone and then I was, as a friend used to say, off in lullaby-loo-loo-land. My husband was not impressed, but he let me sleep and went car shopping on his own. It is to his credit that he did not buy anything until I’d woken up the next morning. In fact, he even brought me breakfast in bed!

Staying awake is sometimes difficult, especially in stressful circumstances. The disciples of Jesus discovered this the night their leader took them into a garden and asked them to stay awake and pray. The level of stress was high for all concerned. They were in a city where Jesus was a marked man; the authorities were out for his blood. Jesus himself knew the time had come when he would pay the ultimate sacrifice and give up his life. He needed support and prayer, but his followers fell asleep.

It is to his credit that Jesus did not turn away from his disciples. When it was all over, He went back to encourage them, to let them know that even though they were weak and afraid, He still loved them. He loved them so much He sent His Spirit to indwell and empower them – a Spirit that would not only keep them awake when they needed to be, but would help them perform miracles and reveal the identity of their Messiah to thousands.

It is comforting to know we have that kind of God. Though we fail Him, He does not abandon us. Though we sleep and fail to do what He asks of us, His love and grace never cease. When we turn to Him, He is always there, ready to forgive, ready to guide, ready to bless.

The recorded last words Jesus spoke to his followers on this earth are testament to that amazing love. He said – “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b).

By Marcia Lee Laycock

We hear a lot about self-esteem in our modern age. Psychologists and Psychiatrists have probably made millions by advertising that they could build it up or rejuvenate it or even originate it. Self esteem is something we all know we all need in order to feel good about ourselves and function well in our society. There are a lot of ways to build it up. Some of them even work. But at the end of the day self esteem is never enough.

A man named Simon discovered that. From all accounts he was the kind of guy everyone would suspect of low self-esteem. He always tried too hard. Always was too quick to answer, too quick to act, too quick to declare his undying allegiance. And he could never follow through. He was a failure and everyone knew it. People probably smiled indulgently when he spoke, shook their heads when he made his outrageous claims, maybe even laughed out loud when he did things like jump out of boats in the middle of deep water.

Simon himself knew he was a failure. But his self-esteem got a boost, once. His teacher asked him a question and for once his quick answer was right on the money. He answered the most crucial question any of us has to deal with. Jesus asked, “But what about you? … Who do you say I am?” Simon answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:15-16).

That’s when Jesus told him who he really was. He called him Peter, the rock, and told him he had a great future building the kingdom of God on earth. Perhaps, just for a moment, Peter believed it. But it didn’t take long before he was acting like the same old Simon. And then came that day when he proved himself not only a failure, but a coward. Though he now bore the name Peter, his self esteem could never have been lower when he denied knowing the one he called The Christ. All the self-esteem he’d been building up as one of the leaders on Jesus’ team did him no good. The darkness that fell over the earth when Jesus died probably matched the darkness in Peter’s heart and soul at that point.

 If Jesus had been any other man, any other God, Peter would probably have ended up on the skids after that. He knew he was the biggest fool in the bunch. But he also knew this Jesus. There was still a spark of hope inside Peter, so when the women came and told him Jesus was alive he ran to the tomb, ran for his life. And when Jesus walked with him and asked him another vital question, three times, Peter no doubt did not miss the significance. “Do you love me?” Jesus asked. And Peter’s answer was not so quick, not so self-assured, not so based on his built-up self-esteem. His answer, “Yes Lord, yes Lord,” and finally, “Lord you know all things; you know that I love you.” (John 21:15-17). His answer was based on the relationship he had with the one who asked the question. His answer was based on an understanding of who Jesus was and who he was in relationship to Him.

Peter had finally understood that he was not the one who could summon up great faith and courage. He was not the one who would have all the right answers and all the power to do miracles. He was not the one who would build God’s church. He finally understood. It was not about self-esteem or prestige or power. It was not about him at all. It was all about Jesus.

The newspaper headline was ominous. A potentially deadly virus had been detected in our area and health officials were concerned. It was unnerving because the virus is carried by a common rodent and can be contacted just by breathing in the dust in an infected area. The article gave specifics about what to do if you discover a dead rodent and later I went on the web to learn more. The information stated that it wasn’t enough to just clean up the area. In fact, attempting to do so was dangerous, since sweeping would stir up the infected dust. Details were given on how to wet down the area with a solution of water and bleach, and caution was given about wearing gloves and a mask. It was a relief to know that though the danger was real, the prevention was relatively easy.

There are a lot of dangerous, even deadly things in this world. There are also a lot of pitfalls – dangerous and deadly traps - that we can fall into spiritually. The Bible has a simple, three letter word for them – sin. Sin can be unnerving because it’s so common, so easy to slip into and so devastating if it is sustained. Sometimes, even when we try to clean it up, it seems like deadly dust results. But it’s a relief to know there is a prevention. The guidelines are relatively easy to follow. All we need is the will to do it.

Why then, do we sin? We know it’s dangerous. We know it might even be deadly. We wouldn’t walk into a room where we know the Hanta virus is lurking, yet we walk into situations where we know sin is inevitable. Even the Apostle Paul did it, and he tells us so in the book of Romans – “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing”(Rom. 7:19 ). Paul, like each and every one of us, had to wage a war against our sin nature. It’s a war that must be fought continually. The good news is, we aren’t in it alone.

Paul gives us the instructions we need for the battle. He says – “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes…Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace…take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions…” (Ephesians 6:10-18)

We all struggle with sin, but we have been given what we need to avoid contamination.

A Dance Lesson in The Kitchen    

By Marcia Lee Laycock   

“What’s Grandma like, Mom?”

My daughter’s question caught at my heart. I hadn’t seen my mother since before she suffered a stroke and I was fearful. Had the effects of the debilitation changed her more than just physically? I swallowed my apprehensions and answered the question.

“You’ll love her, girls. She loves you both very much.”

I could see my response wasn’t quite satisfactory. My daughters needed something more. I watched nine-year-old Katie do a pirouette. Her sister Laura, seven, did an attempt at a tap step. A friend had given us an old pair of shiny black tap shoes and both girls had laid claim to them. I smiled. “Grandma was a dancer, you know.”

Two little faces lit up. “She was? Did she tap dance?”

“Oh yes. She won prizes for dancing when she was young. I think I have some pictures downstairs. Let’s see what we can find.”

For my daughters, the old photos were an introduction to extended family. They pointed, and giggled. Katie peered at a photo of three young girls, about 11 or 12 years old. My mother, the girl in the middle, wore a pokadot blouse, short skirt and tap shoes adorned with big bows. Her short hair was gelled into kiss-curls on her forehead and cheeks.

I didn’t disturb Katie as she studied the picture. When she looked up, her eyes were hopeful. “Do you think she could teach us to dance?”    

A memory flooded back - a slight, trim woman, holding the edges of her apron, her eyes twinkling as she did the “soft shoe” on black and white kitchen tile. “I’m sure Grandma will ...”  I started to say. The realization hit again. After two years of fighting, Mom now walked with a cane and a heavy brace on one leg.  

“Well,” I faltered. “Grandma’s legs don’t work like they used to, but we’ll see...”

When Mom arrived, Katie blurted the question that had stayed on her heart. “Grandma, will you show us how to tap dance? We have these shoes...”

My Mom beamed. “Oh, what wonderful taps, Kate!” She struggled out of her chair. With all of us holding our breath, my mother planted her cane firmly and gave my daughters their first tap lesson. “Step, touch, click, step touch click. Oh, this brace is so clumsy! But it’s easy, girls. Come stand beside me and try it.”

As I watched them, the taps clicking on the hard linoleum, giggles coming from all three, a scripture came to mind - “Perfect love drives out fear” (1John 4:18). I realized I was seeing that truth, alive and well, before me. In spite of pain, humiliation and fear, my mother drew on love and triumphed. In that moment I knew, though the fortress that is my mother might slowly crumble, her indomitable spirit would never die. My fear turned to joy and thankfulness for this moment, a moment that was so much more than just a dance lesson in the kitchen.  

We were watching the portrayal of the last week of Jesus’ life on earth. The actors depicted the Biblical characters with skill and the performance to that point had been flawless. Then a woman ran to a prominent place on the set before us. She was agitated and called out to Jesus, waving her arms to get his attention. The actor playing the Saviour turned and began to walk toward her. She continued to gesture and talk rapidly.

It was at that point that I realized there was something different about the way in which the woman was speaking. The other actors seemed to have no problem projecting their voices in the natural amphitheatre, but this woman’s words were muffled and clipped, as though she wasn’t quite finishing them. Then she began to move her hands as she spoke and I realized her voice sounded different because she had a hearing impairment. I hadn’t expected to see a deaf person acting in the Passion Play, and it made me sit up and take notice.

As Jesus came within a few feet of her, he was facing the audience and his voice boomed out toward us. Then he did something that took my breath away. As he spoke, he began to sign the words. As the woman signed back, I was stunned by the beautiful simplicity of it, an act of communication so quick and efficient. But I was also stunned to think that Jesus was so readily able to respond in like manner. Again, I was taken by surprise.

But then I thought, how fitting, how perfectly right, that Jesus would respond in that way. His desire is to communicate with us and He so often uses whatever we are familiar with. He speaks to us in our language, with our accent, even with our choice of words. He uses modern day media and the physical world in which we live. All we have to do is open our ears and listen, open our eyes and see.     

The writer of Hebrews quoted the Old Testament Prophets when he said –“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts …” (Heb 3:7&8). Unfortunately we all have done so. We fail to hear Him, even though He takes every occasion to speak to us. We fail to see His hand at work, even though he performs miracles every day. We have become deaf and blind and too often, dumb.

The good news is that it is never too late to hear, never to late to see, never too late to speak. God’s mercy and grace have no limits in time. They are always available to us, making it possible to respond.

Let me end with the words Jesus spoke long ago – “He who has ears, let him hear” Matthew 11:15).

Every region of the world has one. In China, it’s rice; that tiny grain grown in wetlands and on terraced mountainsides. In Italy, it’s pasta; long tendrils made from flour and water. In much of the South Pacific, it’s Sago; a gelatinous starch leached from the sawdust of a palm tree. In Africa it’s maize; that hard yellow kernel ground into a fine gruel. In our area of the world, it’s bread, baked from the fine powder ground from kernels of wheat. Every region has its staple, its "staff of life," that essential ingredient upon which everything depends. You might say each culinary tradition has its crutch.

Every civilization has also had its religious traditions, its spiritual crutch. Study the most primitive tribes of Africa and you will find the rituals of religion. Read about the complex societies of early China, Greece and Rome and you will find the details of their belief in gods and godesses. Track the architecture of the Mayans and the cave paintings of North American Indians and you’ll find they are linked to their religions. They have all had their crutch. Many have called Christianity a crutch, their tone of voice a sneer. But it’s an independent self-sufficiency that says, "I’m not one of those who need any kind of god. I can make life work just fine on my own."

Sometimes we can. Sometimes life works: prosperity rules the day, health is not an issue, the family is doing fine and friends are always there when you need them. Who needs God? Then life takes a bit of a turn. The stock market takes a sudden dive and prosperity isn't quite so assured. A stabbing pain and shortness of breath lead to hospital. A life-long partner suddenly decides there are greener pastures in some else’s backyard. A teenager discovers drugs help kill the pain of isolation and fear. Friends sense the tension and disappear. Suddenly your stability is shaken. Suddenly you find you can’t stand alone.

Jesus called Himself the "bread of life," the One upon whom spiritual survival depends. He is the crutch of Christianity, the essence of faith, hope and love. Without these, we are in dire straits. "We live by faith, not by sight." (2Corinthians 5:7). "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Proverbs 13:12). "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong ..." (1Corinthians 13:1). "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love." (1Corinthians 13:13).

We can’t live healthy lives without the staple foods that nourish us. We can’t live spiritually healthy lives without the essential ingredients. Christ is our crutch.

By Marcia Lee Laycock

I made an exciting discovery yesterday. I got so excited about it I called my husband into the office so I could show him. He smiled indulgently but looked like he thought I was overreacting just a bit. I’ve been critiquing and editing manuscripts for writers for some time. I would usually do the edits on a hard copy of the manuscript, then transfer them onto the computer and send the finished product to the writer. The task was laborious since it is important for the writer to see the changes I make and in some cases, understand my reasoning. I used the highlight feature as well as the font colour feature on the computer, making the changes as I went, then highlighting and putting comments in red. This required continually clicking buttons and using the mouse.

A few days ago I joined an online critique group. Each person submits a story and all the others critique it. As we got started someone asked how to put the changes right into the manuscript. I was about to send a message explaining my method when I read a message from another group member. He explained that all you have to do is hit the Tools button and click on ‘track changes.’ The computer does everything for you! I immediately pulled up an old manuscript and tried it. That’s when I got excited. This little discovery will save me a lot of time and ‘fiddling.’

In my own defense I must explain that I am self-taught on the computer. I have never taken a course, but learned by doing. For the most part that has worked fine, but when I discovered this tracking feature it made me wonder what else I’ve been missing. Maybe it’s time I investigated all the features the program designers put into my computer. Maybe it’s time I discovered how it’s meant to be used. There are probably a few other things I’ve been doing the hard way.

Sometimes we go through life the same way. We are self-made, self-taught and self-focused. Usually, that means we’ve been doing things the hard way. Maybe it’s time we discovered our designer had a different plan. Maybe it’s time we discovered what that plan is. God has provided everything we need to live our lives according to His plan. The Apostle Paul new this when he wrote to the Philippians – "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).

Did you notice that last phrase? That’s the important part, the part that can mean the difference between living life the hard way, and living life with abundant joy. In Christ Jesus. Why do things the hard way?

 

The Essence of Spiritual Belief

By Marcia Lee Laycock

"We have entered a time when ... people ... are awakening to the call ... to ... transform ourselves into wholesome, healthy, balanced, collective human beings ..."

Sounds good, doesn’t it? The statement, made in last week’s Edmonton Journal, is no doubt well-intentioned. Who among us does not want an end to all that is unwholesome, unhealthy, and imbalanced in our lives? The writer of the article in the Journal goes on to say that utopia is possible by simply knowing ourselves, by engaging in "self-realization" and becoming "masters of our own well-being." She says that the essence of spiritual belief is "Know yourself."

I beg to differ. The essence of my belief is Know your God. Christianity is not about self-focus but about God-focus. We cannot truly know ourselves without God. We cannot transform ourselves without God. We cannot make a difference in our world, neither local nor global, without God. We cannot do it on our own. History has proven it. History will continue to prove it. Until mankind turns to God, acknowledges the sin that separates us from Him and seeks His forgiveness, we will continue to live with the corruption we have created.

The CBC carried a special documentary last week, marking the tenth anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. A doctor who lived through the horror remembered the flowing blood and his own helplessness. He returned to the villages to find that a recent discovery had been made. Those being tried for the atrocities had given the location of a burial site. The doctor stood among the mummified, mutilated bodies of men, women and children. He stood with a backdrop of human skulls and said he wanted his students to see this. He wanted them to know about it so that somehow a way could be found to prevent it from ever happening again. Self-realization won’t do it. Making ourselves our own masters won’t do it. I think that doctor, standing in the midst of such horrific proof, would agree.

The true good news is that there is a way. God made a promise to the people of Israel that still holds true today – "... if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2Chron.7:14)

If we look inside ourselves for salvation we will only be bitterly disappointed. We must look to God.

I closed my eyes as the music swelled around me. The Lotu - the national church in Papua New Guinea - was packed that morning. The people were on their feet, singing praises to God. I loved to watch them, but that morning I closed my eyes as the presence of God was evident. Then I felt a sudden warmth on my face. It startled me for a moment, as the unexpected parting of a cloud can be a surprise. I thought someone must have opened a louvered window high on the wall, allowing the bright tropical sun to beam down on us. It wasn’t until I opened my eyes at the end of the song that I realized there were no windows, no louvers to open. There was no beam of sunlight pouring in. But I knew I had felt the touch of warmth on my face, the delight of the sun, the delight of the Son. The surprise of that morning stayed with me for a long time.

Recently I read about a little girl who was dying of cancer. The disease was in her bones and the doctor had told her parents their daughter would not live long. But one day her grandmother read her something from the Bible. The scripture amazed the girl so much she memorized the words and took them to heart. She said she knew, from that moment on, that she would be okay. The words that convinced her read: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths... It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones" (Proverbs 3:5-8). The doctor was amazed when the cancer went into remission. The girl’s reply, when they told her, amazed him even more. She said, "Am I supposed to be surprised?"

When God intervenes, when He reveals His love, when He answers prayer, why are we surprised? Shouldn’t we be like that little girl, confident that He does hear, that He will answer? We should know Him well enough that we aren’t surprised when He delights us. It’s part of His character, His very being. The Apostle John says it well – "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him" (1John 4:15,16).

We can have that same confidence that little girl had, even when our prayers aren’t answered the way we think they should be. When the disease isn’t cured or the bills aren’t paid or the desires of our hearts seem to be only futile dreams. Even then, we can have the delight of knowing God. We can know His character is true and unchanging. Then, when we are suddenly confronted with the reality of His love, it won’t come as such a surprise.

I love technology. My purse is proof. Open it right now and you’ll find a digital camera, a cell phone, a PDA and a portable keyboard. No wonder the thing weighs a ton. I’ve discovered something as I’ve hauled all this stuff around. Technology is wonderful when it works but it demands one thing – a good strong connection to its source of power. The camera and PDA won’t work if their batteries are low. The keyboard won’t work unless it’s plugged in solidly to the PDA, and the cell phone won’t work if the signal isn’t strong.

This principle of technology was proven the other day, at my workplace. A customer handed me a plastic card to pay for her purchases. I zipped the card through the machine – a technological marvel that connects the store to the bank – and it made promising noises. Then it stopped in mid stream. The digital readout blinked at me. ‘Cannot connect,’ it said. So I jiggled the web of wires leading to and from the power source and tried again. Nothing. The customer had to pay in cold hard cash.

I tried turning the power on and off. I jiggled all the wires again. The machine would not work. Determined not to let a machine get the better of me, I sorted out all the wires one by one and followed each one to its source. There was one wire that went behind the counter and came out in the other room. I crawled around until I found it and followed it to its source, the phone jack. AHA! When I pushed the small plastic connection it made a satisfying click. The machine obediently went back to doing what it was designed to do. Technology demands good connections.

God doesn’t.

God hears us when we whisper. He hears us when we groan in pain or frustration. He hears us when we cry and when we curse. No matter how weak our connection to Him, He will respond if we turn to Him. In fact, He will respond even when we aren’t sure He exists. He will respond even when we are living a life far from Him. He will respond even when we have spit in his face.

I know this is true because it happened to me. And the Bible tells me so. The Apostle Paul told the Romans – "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly... God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6-8) He died in spite of and on account of all those who cursed him at the cross. He died with these words on His lips – "Father, forgive them."

A weak connection. No connection at all. It doesn’t matter to God. All that matters is that we turn our face to Him. Whisper the word "Help." Whisper His name. He will respond.

"What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (James 4:14b)

I don’t know about you, but when I read that verse, I thought, how true and how depressing! None of us wants to think our lives are of no consequence. None of us wants to believe our lives are short. We all want to leave some kind of mark on the world and we all want to live forever. But we all know that the reality is much different from what we want.

That verse in the book of James is a true statement and it points, like a flaming arrow, at the futility of living our lives with selfish motives. James points out the folly of making all kinds of plans and schemes just to make money, just to make our lives more comfortable. He urges us, instead, to seek God’s will and do the good laid out for us to do. That, in effect, is a life of consequence, a life that will reach into eternity.

I recently read a novel, Safely Home by Randy Alcorn, which portrays this principle extremely well. The main character is an executive in a huge company in the United States, a man who makes thousands of dollars and continually plans how to make more. His boss loves him. His colleagues envy him. Some of them hate him. His wife left him and his children barely know him. He has no place for God in his life until he is sent to China to develop business relationships for the company. He looks up an old college friend, a brilliant man who was sent to study in the United States. He expects the man is a prosperous professor by now and is shocked to discover he is working as a locksmith’s assistant and living in poverty. His Chinese friend has chosen God over riches and prestige.

As the novel unfolds the reader begins to see the richness of the Chinese man’s life, the richness of his faith. His boss is his friend. His colleagues respect and honour him. His wife and son love him and are faithful to him. The novel portrays how the assistant locksmith living in poverty had an eternal effect. His life, though short, was of consequence. His life, though "a mist that appears for a little while," was patterned after God’s will.

The verse quoted at the beginning is true but it does not have to be depressing. Living our lives according to God’s will, directed by the Holy Spirit, is a sure way to joy, peace and fulfillment. Life is short but it doesn’t have to be of no consequence. What is done under God’s direction will last forever.

Everybody's a Cowboy?

By Marcia Lee Laycock

There’s cowboy music in the air. Literally. It’s coming from loudspeakers and fiddle players on the street corners. You can hear the commentator calling out the times for bull riders and bronc riders. It’s Stampede week in Ponoka and everybody’s a cowboy.

I remember my first experience in this distinct culture. I borrowed a cowboy hat and bought a western-style shirt to go with my jeans. It felt like I fit right in. Then I went into a local restaurant. And I was stopped dead in my cowboy boots. The place was full of cowboys. Real cowboys - the guys who get up on those enormous bulls and bucking horses. I pulled the cowboy hat off. I listened to the conversations around me and realized I most certainly did not fit right in. When faced with the real thing, my clothes were just a costume that didn’t change who I was, or rather, who I wasn’t. I was playing a game. These guys were living it.

I gave that cowboy hat back to my friend. I think I gave the western shirt away. They didn’t really fit very well.

I had another experience like this once, in an auditorium at a Bible college. A new Christian, I was still learning how a Christian should act and dress and speak. I was getting comfortable in that culture. Then the main speakers for the morning were introduced. They were from an area of Africa where it wasn’t safe to admit you were a Christian. All of them had been beaten. All of them had been in prison. As they told their stories, focusing on the greatness of God, the love and mercy of God, I sank a little lower in my seat. These guys were the real thing - the kind of Christians who have been tried and tested and came out as pure gold.

I began to wonder if I was just playing a game.

That incident led me into a deeper understanding of what it means to be a Christian. Wearing a dress and going to church on Sunday with a Bible in my hand didn’t make me a Christian any more than wearing a cowboy hat made me a cowboy. When faced with the real thing, I realized there was much more. I didn’t give my Bible away or stop doing the things Christians should do, but I began to seek to understand the greatness of God, the love and mercy of God, the way those men from Africa did. Slowly the Bible felt more comfortable in my hand, because God’s Word was in my heart. As I grow in my relationship with Christ and try to follow Him, I’m becoming the real thing.

Jesus said – "For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him" (John 6:55,56).

Not everybody’s a cowboy. But everybody can become a real Christian.

Some time ago I was corresponding with a few women from the U.S. We were on an e-mail listserve together, the kind where all our messages were seen by the whole group. Two of the women were military wives. One, a woman in Oklahoma, sent a message to the other in New York. It was just one line, but it shocked me. She asked – "Is your husband at war?" Suddenly the reality of the Iraq war hit me, especially when the woman from New York sent back one word, "Yes."

In his book, Waking the Dead, John Eldredge makes an equally shocking statement. "We are at war," he says, but most of us don’t know it and don’t act like it. We have been lulled into believing there is no enemy and we never anticipate his attacks. We’ve forgotten how to fight him and even when he wins a victory we are unaware.

Think about it. When did you say something you knew you shouldn’t have? When did you tell a lie to avoid embarrassment? How about that day you got angry with everyone for no particular reason? When was the last time your mind took a cynical turn? How often do your thoughts follow a decidedly negative track?

Yes, we are at war and we must stand guard continually. The apostle Paul knew all about this kind of warfare. In 2 Corinthians he says – "... we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2Cor.10: 3-5)

In the film, A Beautiful Mind, the main character learns to live with schizophrenia. There is a scene at the end of the film where he is approached by a stranger. He turns to one of his students and asks if there really is a man talking to him. When the student says yes, he continues the conversation. That man knows he is at war, will always be at war, and must continually check his perceptions of the world.

So must we. Check our attitudes, check our thoughts, check our behaviour. Have we forgotten we’re under attack? Has the enemy slipped in and ambushed us, stolen our peace and disappeared again? Are we at war? We only need one word to answer. Yes.

How do we fight in such a war? The Apostle Paul gives us the answer – "... whatever is true, whatever is noble. whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things." (Phil.4:8) And, to repeat ... "take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ." That and that alone, will result in a beautiful mind, at peace yet prepared to do battle.

I’d been sitting at the registration table, handing out nametags and taking payment for the seminar. At some point someone left a pen on the table. It was just one of those promotional pens, but it was a big fat one, the kind I like. After resisting for a while, I picked it up and examined it more closely. The name and address of an orthodontist was stamped on the shaft.

At the break time I was back in my place, taking money again as people selected the books they wanted to buy. A woman glanced down at the pen. "Oh, she said, "is this mine?" "Could be," I replied. "It was left here." She turned the pen in her hand and chuckled. "Yes, this is my five thousand dollar pen." Then she smiled and explained that she had taken her son to be fitted for braces and before they left, the orthodontist gave her the pen. "Somehow it felt like I’d been cheated!"

Have you ever made a purchase and then thought the item wasn’t worth what you’d paid? There’s a very short story in the Bible, in the book of Matthew, that talks about buying something of value. "Again," Jesus said, "the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." (Matthew 13:45) Imagine finding something of such great value that you would sell everything you owned to own it! Imagine taking that something home and discovering that it was indeed worth every penny, because this thing you had purchased would never wear out. This thing you had purchased was eternal.

Now stop imagining. Take a look around you right now, wherever you are. The world looks real, doesn’t it? It looks like it will last forever, but it won’t. It will change, decay, crumble into dust eventually. But there is a world that will last forever. It’s not visible to us right now, but some day it will be. The kingdom of God will become as real to us as the world we live in right now, and it will last forever.

There’s one way to ensure that you are part of that eternal kingdom. Get to know the King. He offers us this ‘pearl of great price’ for free. He has already paid the price for it. All we have to do is accept that sacrifice, acknowledge that we cannot pay for it ourselves, and be born again into His realm.

The gift even comes with a guarantee. You won’t walk away feeling like you’ve been cheated. You’ll see the world differently and you’ll begin to relate to it differently. The gift becomes part of you because that’s the other thing that’s eternal – you. You will live forever and it’s your choice where you’ll spend eternity. It would be wise to go now and sell everything – let everything else go but this one thing. Receive the Kingdom of God.

When the scandal hit, most people caught their breath in shock. Each day the headlines were worse. The pictures made us all cringe in disgust. Politicians expressed outrage and the military tried to insist that it was an isolated incident.

The scandal had all the juicy ingredients of big news. Those claiming the moral high ground and trumpeting the moral right had been proven to be capable of evil equal to that of their enemies. Once the shock wore off, many secretly, and some not so secretly, gloated. Many others expressed dismay. In their hearts they wondered, if the behaviour of these who claim to be good is so essentially corrupted, where does that leave us? Who can we now turn to? Who can we now believe? Is there none who is righteous?

The Prophet Isaiah tells us the answer to that question – "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." (Isaiah 59:7) The Apostle Paul quotes the great prophet in the book of Romans as he explains that even those who know and diligently obey the Law are not righteous because they observe it, they are only made conscious of their sin.

We should not be surprised at the moral failure of men who have been following the law, trained to follow orders, trained to live within the context of war. Though they thought they stood on moral high ground, they have been standing on sinking sand. The external rules and regulations prove to be only a veneer that rubs off when circumstances change, when they discover they are not living in a place where everyone follows those same rules.

There is only one sure foundation for morality, for righteousness, and that is God Himself. The good news is that even those who perpetrate such horrific crimes - crimes against their enemies, themselves and all of mankind – even these can attain righteousness. It is not righteousness born of laws or patriotism or morality, but it is righteousness that comes from the true high ground.

Thus the apostle Paul does not leave us all in a desperate and depressing place when he points out our lack of righteousness. He goes on to say, "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known ... This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe" (Romans 3:21,22).

Who do we turn to? Who do we now believe? The only man who can keep us all from the atrocities of our own sin – Jesus Christ.

A Father’s Concern for the Details

I was browsing in a store the other day, looking for a graduation card for a friend’s daughter. Right beside the grad. cards was a colorful display of father’s day cards and gifts. As I scanned them, my mind took me back to my high school graduation long ago, and the role my dad played in it. The excitement of the occasion was marred because my mom was in the hospital at the time, suffering from a mild heart attack. With Mom away, everything was up to Dad. He took me shopping for a dress, made reservations at a favourite restaurant for dinner, and made sure we scheduled things right so I could go to the hospital in cap and gown so my mom could see me in the traditional grad. attire. He sat through the long ceremony and took the obligatory pictures to capture the milestone. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my dad made sure everything went as planned. The day was exhausting but good, the approval in my father’s eyes worth all the effort I had put into five years of high school.

My dad, like most fathers, wasn’t always good at arrangements. He usually left those kinds of details up to my mom. He would tag along for the ride, but it was obvious who was really in control. But when the need arose, he came through with flying colours. In fact, I had the suspicion that he was really enjoying himself. I know I was. I loved the attention that had often seemed lacking in the past. My dad was a busy man who didn’t take much notice of what we kids were up to. He ‘brought home the bacon,’ as the saying goes, but often seemed disconnected and detached from what was going on in the family.

Unfortunately, my perception of God was identical to my perception of my dad’s care and concern for us. I thought of God as an aloof entity somewhere "out there." He’d make sure you were provided for, but it wasn’t wise to bug him with the details. It has taken a long time for me to understand that God is in the details of my life. He’s not only concerned with them, he has designed them just for me. His involvement in my life is up close and personal.

When I realized this was true I began to discover another aspect of God, just as I had with my dad as he arranged the details of my graduation. I discovered God loves being involved in my life, because he loves me.

The good news for us all is that he wants to do the same with each and every one of us. He loves us all as individuals. His care and concern are undying. He’s just waiting for us to turn, look up, and see the approval in his eyes.

Just Follow Me

By Marcia Lee Laycock

We were in a strange city whose streets seemed to have no logical pattern and whose drivers seemed to like excessive speed. I wasn’t happy about having to drive through the heart of it. "Don’t worry," my husband said. "Just stay close and follow me."

He jumped into our newly purchased vehicle and zipped into the flow of traffic. I gripped the steering wheel and followed. At the second intersection he zoomed through a yellow light that turned red before I could advance. The instant it turned green I sped forward, trying to peer over and around the cars ahead, hoping to catch sight of my husband and our new car. I didn’t know that when he was several blocks ahead he realized I was no longer behind him, so he pulled over to wait. Unfortunately, when he saw me go by he had to wait for a long line of traffic, so I ended up several blocks ahead of him. Despairing of losing my way, I pulled over and waited. Then I saw him go by and nervously waited for a break in traffic to get back on the road. By that time, of course, he was again several blocks ahead. We leap-frogged in this manner until we reached the last set of lights on the edge of the city. I breathed a shaky sigh of relief and relaxed my white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel.

"Just follow me." Obeying those three small words is a lot harder than you might think.

Jesus said those same words to his disciples and it meant they had to leave their families, their hometowns, their livelihoods. He never said it would be easy. He said things like, "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matthew 10:37-39)

God demands first place in our lives. If we put anything before him - family, home, career – we will never find our true identity. It is only when we follow him first that we will discover who we really are. The reward is that when we do so, our family, home, career all benefit, and so do we. The promise is that we don’t have to do it all alone. He doesn’t put us in the driver’s seat. He knows how white-knuckled we’d be, trying to do it on our own. So he asks us to let him do the driving. His Spirit guides and directs and gives us the strength to do whatever he asks of us. It’s not always easy, but it’s the surest way to get to where we want to be.

Just a Little Weed

By Marcia Lee Laycock

It began slowly, a small patch of weed on the edge of the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea. Able to double its mass within a few days, the plant, called salvinia molesta, spread rapidly. Villagers along the river began to notice. The weed formed into a thick mat. Within a short time it had clogged access to swamp land where the villagers harvested their staple food. Soon the weed mat was up to a metre thick and they were not able to navigate the river, preventing them from fishing as well as traveling to their markets, schools and medical clinics.

The villagers knew the river was dying. They had no option but to abandon their homes and try to find another sight along the river where the plant had not grown. With two hundred and fifty square miles of infestation, they had a long way to travel. To the people of the Sepik River, the infestation of this plant meant the death of their way of life.

To modern scientists, it was an ecological disaster that affected other areas in many tropical countries. A team of biologists began investigating and eventually they found a solution – a weevil from South America. Once the weevil was introduced to the areas affected the result was immediate and dramatic. Within a few years the weed was under control. The Sepik River and the way of life of an entire people, was saved. The villages were repopulated and life restored.

The infestation of salvinia molesta has a parallel in our lives. The writer of the Book of James outlined the process – "... but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." (James 1:14,15)

All it takes is a little weakness, the relinquishing of our will to a desire that is unhealthy. Like the salvinia molesta, once that sin takes root, it will grow until it has clogged the life out of us. We are unable to get to the source of life, unable to reach out for the help we need, unable to live. Our desire to live the way God intends is undermined and spiritual death is surely the only end in sight.

But there is a cure. Like that life-saving weevil that was introduced to the Sepik River, there is a way to clear the waters of our life. No matter how far we have gone, no matter how desperate the sin, we can be restored to health. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1John 1:9)

There is no longer a mat of sludge killing the Sepik River. Is there still one on your soul?

Introduce the cure. It’s called repentance.

Some time ago someone sent me one of those much-forwarded e-mails. I don’t like receiving them and am quick to hit the delete button. But this one had an intriguing title, so I read on. Every word in the message was spelled incorrectly. After reading the paragraph, which I understood without a problem, the message pointed out that in every word only the first and last letters were in the correct place, but because our minds have been trained, we automatically supply the corrcet meaning – as you probably just did with the word, ‘correct.’ We recognize that the words are not as they should be, we know there is something wrong, but we compensate and make it work.

We do that every day. We know that things are out of balance, off kilter, damaged and twisted. We also know that is not the natural state of things. We all seem to have the instinctive knowledge of what the word utopia means. Have you ever wondered how that is possible? For as long as I’ve been alive, utopia has been a myth. Neither did it exist in my father’s lifetime, nor in his father’s before him. So how do we know what it should look like?

The answer lies in the first book of the bible, the book of Genesis. The first few verses of chapter one outline God’s pattern of creation. Then there is a small verse at the end – "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good…" All that he had made, which was very good, God gave to Adam and Eve, the only humans who really knew what the word utopia means. They didn’t just know it, they were it, for God "created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (v.27)

Unfortunately, everything went downhill from there. The sin of the first couple banished them from their ideal life and introduced new words into their vocabulary – words like pain, death, sorrow and fear. These were the words that began to damage the world and so it has continued to this day.

There is only one thing left from those days of utopia that has never changed. It was something Adam and Eve did not lose, though they were cut off from perfect communication with God. As their descendants, it is something we continue to have. That one thing is His image. We still bear it, we still long to know it in its fullness. We were created for something more, much more, and we know it.

We are children of God and He has designed a way for us to reopen the channel of communication with Him that was lost when Adam and Eve sinned. That way is Jesus Christ. Through him we will be restored to the true identity God intended.

Right now we’re reading the story with mixed up words. Our hope, through Christ, is that some day they will all be set right.

An Act of God, An Act of Grace

By Marcia Lee Laycock

The day was bright and sunny with just a touch of crispness to it. It was the kind of morning that should have lifted my spirits but as I gazed out the window, my thoughts were far away and all gloomy. I sighed and tried to prepare for the day ahead. I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy one. I glanced at the calendar. The words, "Good Friday" made me sigh again. There would be a church service in a couple of hours, then the funeral for a friend immediately afterward. As I got ready I prayed that the Lord would help me get through it all.

I heard the birds as I was eating breakfast. At first I didn’t pay much attention. There is a large tract of bush on the other side of our street, so we hear the birds every morning. By the time I was ready to head out our front door, I was wondering why the birdsong was so loud. As I stepped out into the fresh spring air, I was astonished at the reason. The entire bush across from me was full of robins. They flitted from branch to branch and tree to tree, singing. I stood and watched and listened and suddenly my spirit was lifted. A verse of scripture that can sometimes seem so impossible came to mind. "My grace is sufficient for you." (2 Corinthians 12:9) I was witnessing an act of grace, a gift given in reply to a plea for help. The gift worked wonders.

I don’t know if robins usually move about in large flocks. Perhaps it’s part of their migration pattern, but I have never seen a flock like that before. I’ve always looked for that single robin that heralded the coming of spring. I would never have dreamed of looking for over a hundred of them. Perhaps God knew that’s what I needed that day – something unusual and delightful, something that would take my breath away. As I drove to the Good Friday service I realized that it’s just like Him to do something like that. He has said that He does not only want to give us life, but He wants to give us abundant life, a life full of delightful things like birdsong, to banish the gloom, a life in which the darkness of death is overcome by the blazing light of life.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:20)

A friend of mine joined the air force just after graduating from high school, many years ago. He trained as a radio technician, but was also trained as part of the base’s defense force. That meant that during the periodic ‘war games,’ meant to teach the men how to defend the base effectively, his assignment was to guard the end of the runway in the event of an "enemy" or "terrorist" attack. He was a solo guard, with only the standard issue rifle with which to do the job. He was usually ‘killed’ very early in the exercise. My friend admits that his guarding of the runway was highly ineffectual. "Had there been real invaders or terrorists," he said, "I would have done my best, but one person with a rifle, standing out in the open probably wouldn't have been much of a hindrance."

When I heard my friend’s story, I immediately thought, "Daah, what were they thinking?" But then I realized that the games those soldiers played back in that era were just that. They were games with no expectation of a real attack. There had been no 9/11. An attack on North American soil wasn’t even a consideration at that time. When you don’t really expect an enemy to attack, you don’t bother taking the precautions that might be necessary.

Too often we forget about the enemy that is out to destroy our souls. We don’t expect him to attack. Perhaps we feel secure in our good works – we go to church now and then, we try to treat everyone well, we give to charities; we might even read our Bibles occasionally. We are like my friend, alone on that airstrip with a very small weapon and, like my friend, we will be ‘dead’ before the ‘game’ has hardly begun.

The Bible says that our enemy "prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith..." (1Peter 5:8-9). How do we resist an enemy set on our destruction? First, believe that he will attack. Then arm ourselves with the knowledge of God, the knowledge of His Word, the knowledge of His promises that will never be broken. Know God in a personal way, as friend, protector and The Almighty. Memorize scripture. The words of God are like atomic bombs to the enemy. He runs for cover when the Word is spoken. Obey His word. The enemy can’t roar loud enough to make a difference when we are responding to God’s voice. And never stand alone. If we stay within the Body of Christ, the lion can only roar in frustration, from the outside.

In the spiritual battles of life, there is far more at stake than the defense of a military base; far more than the defense of an entire nation. The battle is for our very souls, which are eternal. With stakes that high, we must expect the attack and always be on the alert.

By Marcia Lee Laycock

Teachers hear all kinds of excuses. Like this one -

"You cannot hold me responsible for knowing the material on this test, as I was sleeping during all of your lectures. As you did not wake me up, I assumed that you sympathized with my tiredness and were excusing me from the information being covered. Not needing to know the information, I assumed that I would not have to take a test on it. You might have made some kind of mistake in handing me this test, since I don't have to take it, so I am just writing this to remind you."

This might make you laugh, but don’t be too ready to ridicule. Many of us use this same kind of reasoning with God all the time. We reason that if He really did not want us to do a particular thing, He’d do something to stop us. He wouldn’t let us cheat or steal or lie. He’d stop us before we got the chance to act on the thoughts He knows we entertain every day. But God doesn’t work that way. He is not responsible for our actions, any more than that professor was responsible for keeping his student awake in class. And just like that teacher, God will let us do what we set our minds on and then suffer the consequences. He does not do this maliciously, but in love, hoping that we will turn to Him.

The Apostle Paul states this bluntly in Romans 1:28 – "Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done."

God will not stop us from going our own way, but neither will he abandon us when we choose to resist the temptations that come upon us. There is always a way to resist. "And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." (1Cor. 10:13)

We can’t blame God for our weaknesses. We can’t blame him for the mistakes we’ve made. But we can expect Him to be there when we try to overcome them. He has promised to never leave us and His strength is available to us every moment of our lives.

We ought to know that, because He told us so. We ought to remember it when those moments of temptation come. But we are prone to failure.

Again, God’s promise gives us a way out – "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." All we have to do is stop making excuses, stop blaming God, and admit our wrongdoing. Then we can start again with a clean slate and God’s spirit to guide us.

The waitress placed a large bowl of salad in the middle of the table and handed plates all round. Spence and I chatted with our friends for another few moments, while the waitress poured tall glasses of water, then we bowed our heads, closed our eyes and thanked God for the food we were about to eat and the friendship we could enjoy. It was a common blessing, something that is as ordinary to Christians as breathing. As we dished up the salad, our friend Bob said, "We should have prayed like they do in China." My first thought was, how could it be so different? Then Bob explained.

"You can’t bow your head over there. You can’t close your eyes. When the people say the blessing over a meal, in public, they look at one another as though they were having a normal conversation, but instead of talking to one another, they talk to God." I was amazed at the need for such caution. But Bob assured me it was necessary. "Over there, you pray with your eyes open, in more ways than one."

We can be thankful, here in North America, that we don’t have to be afraid to bow our heads and close our eyes in public. But perhaps there is something of value to be learned from the need to do so.

Pray with your eyes open. The phrase has stayed with me, and it has occurred to me how meaningful and exciting, praying that way could be. Perhaps you’ve already done it. Perhaps you stood on the edge of a mountain and looked out on an unending scene of beauty and praised God. Or you looked into the eyes of a new-born baby and gave thanks. Perhaps you watched the destruction and devastation of war on T.V. and prayed for peace. Or drove past an accident on the highway and prayed for those taken away in an ambulance. Or perhaps you walked down the street one day and suddenly started praying for everyone you saw.

Praying with your eyes open. It’s not a bad idea, not a bad habit to cultivate. The Apostle Paul exhorted the people of Thessalonica to do just that when he said, "Pray continually" (I Thess.5:17). There are times, of course, when our praying should be done in a way that takes us away from the distractions of external things, but praying with our eyes open will make us aware of what’s really going on around us. It can put us in touch with what God is doing and make us a part of it. Too often we miss it. Our eyes are open but we’re not seeing, we’re not being touched by what’s around us.

That is God’s intention, after all, that we be His servants on this earth, servants who see and respond in prayer and in action. Pray continually. Pray with your eyes open. Try it. You might get to like it!

By Marcia Lee Laycock

It was just past 6:30 p.m., that moment in the tropics when the day suddenly turns to night. Supper was over and we were all sitting around the kitchen table, chatting. With no television to watch, the kids remained at the table with us. One of the older boys, Joe, asked if we wanted to play a game of cards. Not being really great at such things, I hesitated, but everyone else was in favour, so the decks were brought out and Joe outlined the rules of the game. I listened intently, but they made no sense to me. I asked him to repeat them. They still made no sense. This was a common thing for me and it had kept me from playing card games of any kind for years. I just couldn’t comprehend the directions, so I thought there was no point in trying to play the game.

Then one day my brother insisted I play, assuring me I’d catch on as the game progressed. I discovered he was right, so as Joe started to try and describe the game yet again, I stopped him in mid-sentence and told him to just deal the cards. The game was really quite simple and a lot of fun, with much oohing, aahing, groaning and laughter as it progressed. By the end of the evening I became quite good at it, and even won a few times.

Often we look at spiritual things with the same reluctance with which I had looked at playing cards. We don’t understand how salvation works, so we hold back, refusing to commit to something that seems incomprehensible. We want to know the answers to all our questions before risking involvement. It’s good to be cautious, but sometimes there comes a point when you just have to leap into the game. Sometimes you just have to trust that things will unfold as they should.

It’s all about faith. The apostle Paul knew this when he said; "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1). He then goes on to describe the faith of his ancestors, outlining the history of the Hebrews as he does so. His conclusion is one to which we should all subscribe – "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..."

If I had insisted on understanding everything, I would never have discovered the fun of card games. If we insist on understanding everything about salvation, we will never enter into the joy of living an abundant life with God. The good news is that we can give Jesus permission to "just deal the cards," accept his salvation and know that He’ll be there to help us figure it all out as we go along.

With Saint Patrick, We Stand in Good Company

By Marcia Lee Laycock

Both young men must have thought their lives were over. Taken into a country of foreigners where they were sold into slavery, they must have despaired of ever seeing their families and homelands again. They had to adapt to a new culture, learn a new language and suffer the humiliations of slavery. They must have believed God had abandoned them. But God does not abandon his people. These two young men, one who lived hundreds of years before Christ, the other hundreds of years after, would change the course of history. God gave their lives a purpose and meaning that could only have come through the struggles they endured.

Joseph, son of Jacob, father of the Hebrew nation, was responsible for saving not only the people of Egypt from starvation, but his own family, and therefore the Hebrew nation as well. And Patricius, a sixteen-year-old Briton who would become known as Patrick of Ireland, was the first to take the message of Christ to that nation, the very country where he had been enslaved.

There is another man who whose life took a turn for the worse. He was in the prime of

his life. He had a huge following among common people and those of influence. It looked like he was going to take the nation by storm. But then he took his friends aside one day and told them he was going to die, and very soon. He told them be would suffer indignities and be treated like a criminal. He told them it would look like utter defeat. But God does not abandon His people. That young man’s name was Jesus.

As with the stories of Joseph and Patrick, God had a purpose for the suffering Jesus endured. It was a purpose that would change the history, not just of a nation, but of mankind. The suffering and death of Christ freed us all from slavery, slavery that was meant to separated us forever from our Father. But God’s purpose could not be thwarted. Through the death of Jesus, His will was accomplished. We were reunited with our true family, reinstated in our true country. What looked like defeat was in reality complete victory.

There are times in all our lives when it appears God has abandoned us. We see the horrors of wars and famines raging all over our world. We experience the loss of loved ones to the plagues of cancer and other diseases that seem to be out of control. We cry out at the injustices that happen every day.

But God has not abandoned us. He will bring all things to completion in His time and according to His purposes. Therefore we can stand in good company, with Joseph, Patrick and Jesus, and repeat the words of Paul, "Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him, for that day." (2Timothy 1:12)

The day had been hot and the walk through the gardens longer than I had anticipated. I was among the first few people to return to the tour bus that day and it was a relief to step into the air-conditioned environment. As we waited for the others to return, our driver called our attention to a man in the parking lot. "See that guy?" he asked. We all looked. The man was dressed in over-alls, with a base-ball cap pulled down to shade his eyes as he pushed a long broom toward the gutter. He looked like any other maintenance man you might see in a park. The driver paused for effect. "He’s the owner of this place." He let the words sink in. "In fact, he’s the one who created it."

I stared out the window again. I thought of all the beautiful flowers, shrubs and trees we had just seen, the landscaping that had been done with skill and attention to detail. The gardens were world-renowned for good reason. I was shocked that the man who was responsible for it all was sweeping the parking lot. As our bus rolled away, I watched a large crowd heading for the entrance. They flowed around the man in the over-alls like water around a rock. No-one spoke to him. No-one even seemed to notice him. I wondered what they’d do and say if they knew who he was.

How often do we do that to God? Even if we acknowledge that he did create the world we live in, we think of him as the executive who stays in his office and calls the shots from there. We don’t expect to find him with a broom in his hands. But that’s exactly where God is. He is present with us in every circumstance. Even better, His Spirit is living in us and working through us. He has His hands on the same broom we do. He walks the same roads, drives the same highways. He’s here, waiting for us to see Him, waiting for us to acknowledge his presence.

I still wonder what those people would have said and done, had they known who that man with the broom was. I wonder if they would have thanked him for the treasure he created and opened for their pleasure. I wonder if they would have been in awe, or just a little bit intimidated. And I wonder why it was we who knew sat in our seats and did nothing. We didn’t rush out and shake his hand. We didn’t express our thankfulness for the beauty we’d just seen and experienced. We drove away, watching that crowd ignore him.

There are a lot of verses in scripture that can be used to praise God, to thank Him, to give Him glory. The Psalms are full of them. Perhaps we should all take a moment to read a few, not just out of obligation or habit, but with heart-felt emotion, to acknowledge Him. For, "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise" (Ps.145:3).

 

Is God in the Room?

By Marcia Lee Laycock

We were gathered in the kitchen for our weekly Bible study meeting. As always, we began by just chatting among ourselves about all the ordinary things of life. Then we heard the wail of a baby. Our hostess sighed. "She’s teething," she explained, as she left the room briefly and came back with the babe in arms. One of the other women at the table offered to hold her but when the baby was placed in her lap, she swiveled to look at her mom and burst out crying. She was quickly handed back to her mother. A while later the phone rang. I took the baby as her mother took the phone and left the room. The little one stared up at me and glanced around for her mother. I quickly grabbed a couple of teaspoons and clanked them in front of her. She reached for them and played contentedly.

What had made the difference? The child doesn’t know me any better than she knows the other woman. I didn’t have candy to give her. Why was she content to sit with me, when only moments before she screamed when put into another person’s arms? Her dad voiced the key. "Mom left the room," he said. "She even does that with me sometimes. When she knows mom is there, she only wants mom." That child has learned who will nurture her. That person has nursed her for several months. She is the source of all comfort and even survival. No wonder the child seeks the lap of her mother.

We should seek the Lord in the same way. We should know Him as our nurturer, the one who sustains us, comforts us, loves us above all others. When we know Him that way, no other will take His place. We must always keep Him in sight, always be aware of His presence, or we will be like that baby, content to be distracted by other things. All too often we live that way. We don’t think God is right there in the room with us, ready to supply all we need, so we allow the distractions of life to take over. Soon we begin to think we really don’t need God after all. We’re doing just fine, playing with the spoons on the table. Until it comes time for real nourishment, until it comes time for real comfort. Then we realize the toys we’ve been playing with can’t give us what we need. Then we pick up our Bibles and expect miracles.

God will always be there, but if we’ve spent a lifetime ignoring him it won’t be so easy to see Him. It won’t be so easy to recognize Him as the source of all we need. The Bible says, "Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always." (Psalm 105:4) That is the key to dependence on God, the key to knowing Him, the key to desiring Him alone.

 

An Eraser Big Enough for Any Mistake.

By Marcia Lee Laycock

John Gardner is quoted as saying, "Life is the art of drawing without an eraser." That is a very true statement. Time moves in its inexorable pace, in only one direction, forward. We cannot go back in time and erase the things we regret, the words spoken in haste or anger, the mistakes that had serious consequences. Life doesn’t allow us that luxury.

Many lives have been set on a destructive course because of that fact. A mistake is made and the future, in the mind of that person, is forever set in stone. Regret leads to depression or bitterness that gets worse over the years, preventing that person from leading a fulfilled life. Words spoken long ago still dredge up feelings of guilt that block what should have been good relationships. Careers have been hindered, lives put on hold, happiness destroyed, because of what was done in the past.

All of us have regrets. All of us, at one time or another, wish we had a big eraser that we could use on our past life. As Mr. Gardner has said, we don’t have one. But God does. God can and does erase the past, the mistakes we should call sin. The apostle Paul knew this well. He called himself the chief among sinners, knowing he was responsible for the misery and even death of many Christians. He lived with the consequences of his actions, yet he had confidence in the grace of God to the extent that he was able to say... "but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me... Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14)

God calls us to have that same confidence. We must take responsibility for our actions, and accept the consequences, but we do not have to bear the guilt and shame forever. God forgives and wants us to move on. He wants us to grow into His purposes for our life. Holding on to the guilt and shame is like saying we don’t believe in the work of the cross. Rejecting God’s forgiveness means rejecting Him.

The past can teach us much, but it doesn’t have to bind us into guilt and destructive life styles. There is no mistake too foolish, no sin tool heinous. God holds a big enough eraser in his hand to eradicate it all. It’s an eraser called forgiveness. He’s just waiting for us to give Him permission to use it.

By Marcia Lee Laycock

The road seemed long. The sun beat down on them, but the two men barely noticed. They walked with their heads together, deep in discussion. So much had happened that weekend, so much that they didn’t understand. Their leader had been arrested. They counted themselves lucky to have gotten out of the city unnoticed. Everyone had scattered. Most of their friends were in hiding. They feared what might happen now.

Their conversation was interrupted when a stranger joined them. He seemed to have come from nowhere and his first question made them drop their heads in despair. "What are you talking about? he asked. Surprised that he didn’t know what had happened in the city, they described Jesus, his ministry and his death. They said some of the women who had been close to him had seen angels and believed Jesus was still alive. But others went in search of him and didn’t find him. Their voices trailed off as their dilemma sank in. Who were they to believe?

Then the man chided them, calling them foolish and slow to understand. Then he talked about all the scriptures they knew so well, scriptures they had memorized as children. He showed them how all of those words spoke of one man, the very Jesus they said had been crucified. Somehow it all made perfect sense.

The conversation was so engaging they asked the stranger to stay with them for the night. Then, when they sat down to dinner, this stranger did a very normal thing that suddenly took on profound significance. "... He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him..." The stranger was the very Jesus they had been discussing, the very Jesus they thought they had known.

It was in the breaking of the bread that Jesus revealed himself, just as it was in the breaking of his life that he accomplished his most significant act, the salvation of all. As those two men watched the bread being torn into pieces, they realized the one with them was the one who had been torn for them. At that moment their doubt and confusion were broken too, and all that Jesus had said became clear.

There is much in the bible that talks about being broken. All of God’s servants knew the meaning of the word. David, for instance, said, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." (Psalm 51:17) It seems, in fact, the only way to recognize the Christ.

To use a colloquial phrase, "something’s gotta give." Something in us has to break before we can give our hearts to God. Jesus tells us to break the bread of communion and remember him. What memory can we have, if we are not willing to be broken with him? What celebration of life, if there is no death?

 

Ignoring the Source

By Marcia Lee Laycock

The twinge of pain shot through my hip and down my left leg. "Hmm," I thought, "Where did that come from?" It went away fairly quickly, so I forgot about it. A while later it happened again. Again, I ignored it. Within a few days the pain had become regular. Still, I kept thinking it would go away. Then I felt a twinge in my right knee. A few days later, the twinge stayed there. I told myself it would go away. One day, after walking only a short distance, my knee swelled up so much I was limping. A friend noticed and I admitted I wasn’t sure what I’d done, but that knee wasn’t working properly. She mentioned that when her knee swelled it was because her hip was out of joint. I acknowledged I was having some pain in my hip, but it was on the other side. "Exactly," she said. "Hmm," I thought, and finally made an appointment to have it checked. Sure enough, the problem with the left hip caused my body to try to compensate, damaging the right knee. The pain was obvious, but I had ignored the source of the problem.

Our bodies function like machines. As long as all the parts are in the right place, doing what they should be doing, everything is fine. But when one part malfunctions, the whole body suffers. Everything is connected and meant to function in tandem. When we ignore the danger signals, the twinges of pain and swelling joints, we can end up with severe problems.

We tend to ignore danger signals in our spiritual lives too. We tell ourselves the cynicism and doubts are normal. We refuse to recognize the pain in our hearts when relationships aren’t the way they should be. We coast through life, ignoring the gnawing emptiness we feel and wondering why we get so angry over little things. We ignore the lack of love in our lives and wonder where the bitterness comes from. We know there is something wrong but we fail to connect it with the source of the problem.

When the soul is malnourished, the whole life is affected. The apostle John, in his letter to his friend, Gaius, said – "I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." (3John:2) John knew that you can’t have one without the other. A sickness of the soul leads to a sickness in the life. Ignoring the spiritual danger signals will lead to not just spiritual problems, but spiritual death.

But there is a cure. Jesus said –"Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." (John 6:27) Our souls are nourished by our connection to Him. The closer we are to Him, the healthier we will be, not just in spirit, but in body and mind.